VISA OVERSTAY NEED ADVICE!!

Let me start from the beginning.

Four months ago I met a girl from a certain South American country who was working and staying in Ireland.

Over the last four months we have fallen in love and are very happy.

I always knew she was going home in December and hoped she would come back.

Last night she dropped the bombshell that was staying illegally in Ireland and her tourist visa had run out months ago.

I can understand her reasons for doing it as she can make 5 times as much here as back home.

Can you give me advice on the penalties for the long overstay here?

Will they even notice the expired visa as she is flying via spain and whenever I have left Ireland to go to another EU country they only checked my passport at check in?

Will she ever be allowed back in to Ireland or even the EU?

Well the fact that she hasnt thusfar been caught by Immigration or the GNIB for working illegally is a lucky thing. She entered on a Tourist visa so it would have been expected that she would not work and would have left at the end of that stay. Whoever sponsored her to come here (if someone did) may well receive a letter from immigration looking for a copy of her departure ticket and boarding card to show that she left. If she hasn't, it affects her sponsor also.

Ireland doesn't stamp passports on exit, so if she leaves and applies to come back again, I'd guess that her best best would be to not mention the fact that she both overstayed and worked illegally. This may prove an issue if you are planning on using this time together as a justification on any future visa though.

What visa is she intending to return on? Another tourist visa? Is she looking to return to Ireland?

Thanks for the advice.

I will have to check with her on the sponsor issue as I don't know. I don't think she has one as she just entered on a tourist visa and after the month was up she renewed it for a another month.

She wants to come back to Ireland, but as you say this problem could cause an issue when she re-applies for another visa ie student visa.

Could she work while on a student visa?

Could she return on a tourist visa and then apply for a student/work visa while she is here? Or is it better to apply from there?

I have read that the Irish government is now only issuing working visa's to people with certain skills.

Thanks for the help

You really need to read up more info on 3 areas Work Permits / Work Visas and Work Authorisations. 2 of these may apply to your girlfriend. Read other posts on this site for links. But in a nutshell, yes, only skilled migrants are required currently, and it is especially hard for non-EU workers to get in at the moment due to the massive influx of available workers from the new accession States. Check out www.oasis.gov.ie for more info.

Yes, she could work up to 20 hours a week on a Student visa, but she must register for an approved course to be accepted for a Student visa. You cannot convert to a Student visa from a Tourist visa. You must apply from outside the Republic. Check www.justice.ie for more details on student visas.

As I said earlier, if she is applying for another on her own merits (i.e. not applying to come to you, or are your GF/Fiance) she should omit the overstay and working illegally as currently the Irish Immigration do not know these facts, nor do they know she is currently still here.

The problem may occur if she later applies to come back as your fiancé and you try to say that you knew her for X months during 2006, but she will have said that she wasnt present in Ireland during these months. Basically you are in a Catch 22 situation. You can tell the truth about her situation and risk that any future visa application will be negatively received, or you an lie, but risk getting caught out on the lies at a later stage in the immigration process.

Although it may be hard, do try to think about the long term when facing this issue, as short term solutions may end up costing you dearly in the long term.

Thank You for all your help on the subject.

I will go through the different types of visa etc.

First thing first is that we will see if she hits any snag's while leaving, then we will go from there.

Thanks again

Hello

I read almost every bit of information on this subject and still cant get an answer. My girlfriend is non eu and 3 months pregnant. If possible we want the child to be born here (im irish). She can enter Ireland without a visa and stay for 90 days. Is it possible that she can come and have child here in rotunda? ( i wil pay for the fees). The time is tight so im curious to know what would happend if she overstayed by a few weeks? Obviously, i dont want her flying when beyond the same time and i dont want her getting on a plane with a baby a few weeks old. Our plane was that she return home with our child soon after to show to her grandparents while taking a rest and then returning back to stay with me. I know there are other complications after this but my biggest concern is having the baby and the time after this.

Thanks